The IPA literally changed my life. – Mike Hurd

TL/DR: The IPA changed my life. Your online gift before 12-31-25 will be matched 2-for-1 to help more
people with shy bladder!

December 2, 2025

Hi, my name is Mike and I’m writing to you today to ask for your financial support for the International Paruresis Association (IPA). Before I was an IPA board member and Shy Bladder Center coach, I had suffered from a shy bladder for over five decades. The IPA literally changed my life. In November of 2023, I came across the IPA website and I couldn’t believe what I was reading–that it was possible to help me with my shy bladder I’d been living and coping with my whole life. I had never known that other people had a shy bladder. I thought I was the only person in the world who did. For the first time in my life, I realized I wasn’t alone–and that there were proven ways to improve.

I soon reached out to Tim Pyle, the Executive Director of the IPA. Tim pointed me to many resources available through the IPA that have been shown to be helpful for people suffering from shy bladder syndrome (paruresis). I’m the type of person that goes in 100% when I make a decision… so that’s what I did. In less than two months, I tried many of the IPA-suggested resources:

• I read Dr. Steve Soifer’s The Secret Social Phobia (in one sitting) and practiced what I learned,
• I attended an IPA sponsored-virtual workshop and practiced some more,
• I watched all the videos on the IPA website and practiced even more,
• I attended an in-person IPA sponsored workshop,
• and I kept practicing what I was learning.

I found that my experience of shy bladder was shifting. I was able to “go” in situations I never dreamed I could. My outlook on going to the bathroom became completely different. For the first time, I felt optimistic about traveling anywhere, confident I could use the bathroom when I needed to. My life changed for the better in ways I could never have imagined. I had spent most of my life constantly thinking and worrying about everything to do with going to the bathroom… and suddenly that weight was lifted.

I am eternally grateful to the IPA, and to people like you who support the IPA through your donations, because you have forever changed my life. I’ve since become an IPA board member and Shy Bladder Center coach so I can directly help others suffering from paruresis. None of these positive outcomes I’ve experienced would have happened without the generosity of people like you. Your continued support funds the operations and content behind life-changing workshops, expands awareness, and provides free resources to people with shy bladder – so they don’t have to suffer in silence for decades like I did.

I encourage you to support this amazing organization, which has helped thousands of people directly and indirectly on their shy bladder journey. New donors’ gifts – and any increased gifts from renewing donors – will be matched 2-for-1 through 12-31-25. Won’t you consider making a gift today? Your commitment will provide hope for that future person suffering from this condition,
just like I was. Thank you.

With gratitude,

Mike Hurd
Shy Bladder Center Coach, IPA Board Member

P.S. Remember, your online gift today will be matched 2-for-1, multiplying your impact for people living with shy bladder.

PPS: The date on this letter also coincides with the full release of the new 3rd Edition of The Secret Social Phobia: Shy Bladder Syndrome (Paruresis) by primary author and IPA co-founder Dr. Steven Soifer, PhD, MSW. It’s fully updated with more than 60 pages of brand-new content from Dr. Steve, IPA President Dan Rocker, IPA Co-founder Carl Robbins, IPA Women’s Coordinator Andrea Weyant, and more. Get your copy on Amazon here. While you’re there, you can also grab a copy of my book, Feeling the Flow: Creating Freedom from Shy Bladder Syndrome, for the full story of the recovery journey I touched on above.

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